Innholdsfortegnelse for Stargazing Live i Stargazing Live

Astronomy is the easiest science to communicate because anybody can do it, and it is immediately beautiful; the recent displays offered by Venus, Mars and the crescent Moon in the evening sky have entranced even through the glow of city lights. As with all the sciences, however, a little knowledge makes nature more beautiful. A sky full of sparkling pinpricks and dimly luminous smudges is one thing, but a sky full of worlds is quite another. Through binoculars or a small telescope, astronomy is transformed into a powerful emotional experience. There is a feeling on seeing Saturn like a child’s sketch, or the Galilean satellites shifting nightly around pastel-banded Jupiter, or the 3D swarm of The Great Cluster that’s hard to describe, but we’ve all experienced it and it never…

Turn to pa ge $%!WR!# QG!RXW! about gala xie s , n ebul ae an d star clusters NEBULAE NORTH The northern hemisphere has some bright planetary nebulae, such as the glorious Dumbbell Nebula, M27, the Ring Nebula, M57, the Cat’s Eye Nebula and the Blue Snowball. You can have some serious fun hunting for the Blinking Nebula, too – look directly at it and it will seem to disappear, then switch to averted vision (where you don’t look directly at the nebula) and it reappears. It’s like playing hide and seek in the sky! Supernovae remnants give us the Crab Nebula, M1, and the Veil Nebula in Cygnus – a beautiful slash across the EODFNQHVV!RI!VSDFH"!7KH!PDJQL#FHQW! Orion Nebula, one of the most studied objects in the night sky, also provides…

August 2006 was a sad moment in time for Pluto – that month it lost its planetary status, after other similar (and some larger) objects were found where it orbits. Our Solar System now has eight bodies UHFRJQLVHG!DV!SODQHWV!DQG!"YH! as dwarf planets, including Pluto, Eris and Ceres. 7R!PHHW!WRGD\SV!GH"QLWLRQ! of a planet, as well as being URXQGHG!E\!LWV!RZQ!JUDYLW\! and in orbit around the Sun, D!ERG\!KDV!WR!KDYH!FOHDUHG!LWV! orbit of other objects its size, which Pluto hasn’t done. $OO!WKH!SODQHWV!PRYH! in the same anticlockwise direction around the Sun, if we take Earth’s north pole as an arbitrary reference of rXSS%!7KH!6XQSV!rJUDYLW\!ZHOOS! is immense – imagine a great bowling ball creating a dip in a trampoline. The planets are like marbles rolling along inside this dip around the bowling ball Sun. The closer a planet is to the Sun,…

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Photographing the night sky is a wonderful way to make a lasting record of the many marvels you are lucky enough to see. Thanks to advances in digital cameras it’s also never been easier, or more affordable. The great thing is, you don’t need expert equipment, or even a standalone camera – your smartphone’s camera should be capable of taking a decent photo of the Moon through a telescope eyepiece. You also don’t need to wait for the sky to become completely dark. The Moon, the bright planets and noctilucent clouds can all be seen in twilight skies. The most versatile camera for new astro imagers is the DSLR, which can WDNH!ZLGH"#HOG!VKRWV!RI!WKH!VN\!ZKLOH! mounted on a tripod or attached to a telescope using an adaptor. They have features useful for astrophotography,…

7LFN!WKH!ER[!ZKHQ!\RXSYH! seen each one 1 M92 15x70s )LUVW!RQ!WKH!WRXU!LV!0"#$!D!%QH! globular cluster that suffers from its proximity to a far more illustrious one. Start at the northwest corner of the Keystone asterism in Hercules and imagine a line heading northeast to mag. +3.8 Iota (?) Herculis. Two thirds of the way along this line, M92 shines at mag. +6.4; with an apparent diameter of about RQH!%IWK!RI!WKH!0RRQSV'!:KHQ! \RX!%QG!LW$!\RXSOO!VHH!WKH!OLJKW! of a third of a million stars. SEEN IT 2 M13 10x50s 0"#SV!PRUH!UHQRZQHG! QHLJKERXU!LV!()*$!ZKLFK!LV! FDOOHG!WKH!r*UHDW!&OXVWHUS!IRU! good reason. Situated a third of the way down the western side of the Keystone asterism, it is visible to the naked eye in a reasonably dark sky. Even with small binoculars, this mag. +5.8 globular cluster can be seen in urban skies, although it looks better in GDUNHU!FRQGLWLRQV'!,Q!),[-,V$! LW!EULJKWHQV!LQ!WKH!FHQWUH'!0)*!…

KEY DATES 1-15 JUNE Comet C/2015 9$!-RKQVRQ!ZLOO!EH!DW!LWV! best magnitude of +6.7 1 JUNE Look out for the Lunar X from 22:00 BST (21:00 UT) 3 JUNE!$OO!IRXU!*DOLOHDQ! PRRQV!DUH!FORVH!WR! Jupiter’s disc at 22:30 BST (21:30 UT) 9 JUNE The Moon LOOXVLRQ!PD\!PDNH! WRQLJKW%V!ULVLQJ!IXOO! 0RRQ!ORRN!KXJH The Sun reaches the summer solstice on 21 June, when it appears not to change position in the sky. The June solstice is when the Sun is at its greatest northern declination and is highest in the northern hemisphere’s sky. This means that UK nights are at their shortest so it’s a tricky month for stargazing. But, in summer we get to see the Milky Way high in the sky with bright, distinct constellations containing some great deep-sky objects. Centre stage is the late-spring constellation of Hercules, a large…

MERCURY Diameter: 4,880km • Moons: 0 • Distance from Sun: 58 million km The closest planet to the Sun, Mercury is a place of extremes. It is the smallest and densest planet in the Solar System, barely larger than our Moon. It takes 59 Earth days to rotate once and 88 to orbit the Sun, meaning its parched surface experiences temperatures hot enough to melt lead on the sunward side, but is sub-Antarctic on the side in shadow. This small world is a real challenge to observe for a variety of reasons. It’s a fast mover, travelling around the Sun four times more quickly than Earth, so don’t expect it to hang about in any part of the sky for very long. Mercury’s orbit is a fairly eccentric oval shape,…

HALE-BOPP Closest approach: 136 million km Orbit: 2,520- 2,533 years Famed for: Visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months in 1996/97, Hale-Bopp will return around the year 4385. 67P/CHURYUMOVGERASIMENKO Closest approach: !"#bPLOOLRQ$NP Orbit: 6.4 years Famed for: Target of the Rosetta mission, which sent the Philae lander to LWV$VXUIDFH%$&QGLQJ$ZDWHU$ and organic compounds. GREAT DAYLIGHT COMET Closest approach: 19 million km Orbit: 57,300 years Famed for: Spotted in January 1910, this comet quickly brightened until it outshone even Venus. Its WDLO$ZDVbQRWLFHDEO\$FXUYHG' HALLEY’S COMET Closest approach: 88 million km Orbit: 75.3 years Famed for: The only known short-period comet URXWLQHO\$YLVLEOH$WRbWKH$ naked eye, this regular visitor was observed DVbHDUO\$DV$()*$%&'$ IKEYA-SEKI Closest approach: 450,000 km Orbit: 876.7 years Famed for: Its 1965 close pass of the sun made Ikeya- Seki one…

From Snowdonia National Park in Wales to Exmoor in south west England and Scotland’s Galloway Forest Park, there are now over 150 Dark Sky Discovery Sites in Britain, recognised for their lack of light pollution and good public access. These designations are great news in terms of protecting the skies for future generations, and for a spot of practical astronomy if you are lucky enough to live within travelling distance of them. But for many of us, our stargazing is limited to the back garden and that often means dealing with light pollution. This annoyance comes in two types – sky glow, the rusty orange haze cast by the massed lights over a wide area – and local glare from line-of-sight sources, such as streetlights, security lights and car headlights.…

They don’t look like much – usually a planisphere is simply WZR!GLVFV!RI!FDUGERDUG!RU! SODVWLF!IDVWHQHG!WRJHWKHU!ZLWK! D!FHQWUDO!SLQ!"!EXW!DV!D!QHZ!VWDUJD]HU#! you'll soon discover that this tool LV!RQH!RI!WKH!JUHDWHVW!DLGV!WR!KHOSLQJ! \RX!QDYLJDWH!WKH!QLJKW!VN\$!,Q!IDFW#!WKLV! deceptively simple design will allow you to work out which bright stars are in the night sky on any date and at any WLPH!WKURXJKRXW!WKH!\HDU Although the two discs are pinned WRJHWKHU#!WKH\!FDQ!VWLOO!EH!URWDWHG! LQGHSHQGHQWO\!RI!HDFK!RWKHU$!3ULQWHG!RYHU! PRVW!RI!WKH!ORZHU!GLVF!DUH!WKH!VWDUV constellations and brighter deep-sky REMHFWV"WKDW"\RX"FDQ"VHH"IURP"D"JLYHQ" ODWLWXGH#"0DUNHG"DURXQG"WKH"RXWVLGH"RI" WKLV"ORZHU"GLVF"DUH"WKH"GD\V"DQG"PRQWKV LATITUDE MATTERS The upper disc will be slightly smaller than the lower one or will have a clear ULP$"VR"\RX"FDQ"VWLOO"VHH"WKH"GD\"DQG" PRQWK"PDUNLQJV"XQGHUQHDWK#",W"DOVR"KDV" DQ"RYDO"ZLQGRZ"LQ"LW$"UHYHDOLQJ"SDUW"RI"WKH" VWDU"FKDUW"RQ"WKH"ORZHU"GLVF#"7KH"HGJH"RI" this window represents the horizon with DSSURSULDWH"QRUWK$"VRXWK$"HDVW"DQG"ZHVW" markings and everything within it is the YLVLEOH"VN\#"-XVW"OLNH"WKH"ORZHU"GLVF$"WKH" XSSHU"GLVF"KDV"PDUNLQJV"DURXQG"LWV"HGJH#" ,Q"WKLV"FDVH$"WKH\"LQGLFDWH"WKH"WLPH"RI"GD\#" %\"OLQLQJ"XS"WKH"GDWH"DQG"WLPH$"WKH"VWDUV" visible in the window will match the ones LQ"WKH"QLJKW"VN\"DW"WKDW"WLPH#" The crucial point to keep in mind when using a planisphere is that they are designed to work at…

The oldest and simplest telescope design, Galileo used a refractor to record the phases of Venus, among other things. Refractors have a curved lens at the front, which focuses the light down the tube directly to the focuser. An angled mirror or prism called a star diagonal, which bends the light through 90°, is often added between the focuser and the eyepiece to make viewing more comfortable. BEST FOR: Deep sky objects, double stars and planets. Generally used for visual astronomy; for astrophotography go for a more expensive version with an equatorial mount. OBJECTIVE LENS The objective (main) lens focuses the light down the tube to the focuser and is located at the front of the telescope tube. Modern lenses are often multicoated to provide better light transmission. FOCUSER The…

Once you’ve held even a small telescope for any length of time, you’ll quickly realise that this is a weighty piece of kit that needs something to support it. This essential piece of any setup is called a mount. There are several basic types; which one is best for you, and how much it will cost, depends on what you want to use your telescope for. Most mounts are a variant of two basic designs, altazimuth (altaz) and equatorial. Altaz mounts move in two axes, one perpendicular to the horizon (altitude, giving an up and down motion) and the other parallel to it (azimuth, giving a left and right motion), but most basic designs cannot track the night sky. In equatorial mounts, one of the axes is parallel to the…

PROJECT 1: TWILIGHT SCENE Look for a composition that includes a WZLOLJKW!VN\"!DbORZ!FUHVFHQW!0RRQ"!PD\EH! D!SODQHW!RU!WZR!DQG!VRPH!WUHHV!RU!EXLOGLQJV! that will silhouette themselves against the sky. If you have a DSLR, set it to manual mode. Fix it to your tripod and open the camera’s lens as wide as it will go. Turn off the autofocus, as the low light will cause it WR!KXQW!EDFN!DQG!IRUWK"!WKHQ!PDQXDOO\!IRFXV! DWbLQ#QLW\!DQG!XVH!GLIIHUHQW!H[SRVXUH!WLPHV$ PROJECT 2: STAR TRAILS The idea for this shot is to capture the PRYHPHQW!RIbWKH!VWDUV!RYHU!WLPH"!VKRZLQJ! the Earth is spinning. As well as a tripodmounted camera, you’ll need a remote VKXWWHU!UHOHDVH!FDEOH$!7KH!FDPHUD!KDV!WR!EH! focused on the night sky for a long time to VKRZbWKLV!PRYHPHQW!%!H[SRVXUHV!FDQ!EH! anything from 15 minutes to a few hours. %H!VXUH!WRbLQFOXGH!3RODULV"!DV!WKH!VWDUV! will appear to rotate around it. PROJECT 3: AFOCAL PHOTOGRAPHY 7KLV!SURMHFW!UHTXLUHV!D!WHOHVFRSH"!EXW!DQ\! FDPHUD!ZLOO!GR!%!HYHQ!D!VPDUWSKRQH$!)RFXV! \RXU!WHOHVFRSH!RQ!WKH!0RRQ"!WKHQ!KROG!WKH! camera up to the eyepiece and take a few…

GALAXIES %RXQG!WRJHWKHU!E\!JUDYLW\$!WKHVH!V\VWHPV!FRQWDLQ!PLOOLRQV!RU!ELOOLRQV!RI!VWDUV The Andromeda Galaxy, M31 Constellation: Andromeda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he Triangulum Galaxy, M33 Constellation: Triangulum 7R!REVHUYH!0++!ZLWK!WKH!QDNHG!H\H$!\RX"OO!QHHG!SULVWLQH!GDUN!VNLHV& ,I!WKHUH"V!DQ\!OLJKW!SROOXWLRQ$!\RX"OO!ZDQW!D!SDLU!RI!ELQRFXODUV! WR!KDQG&!7KH!7ULDQJXOXP!*DOD[\!VLWV!EHWZHHQ!PDJ&!,-&-!+DPDO! (Alpha (?.!$ULHWLV.!DQG!PDJ&!,-&/!0LUDFK!0%HWD!0?) Andromedae). The Pinwheel Galaxy, M101 Constellation: Ursa Major 7KLV!LV!D!IDFH%RQ!VSLUDO!JDOD[\!RI!D!VLPLODU!VL]H!WR!WKH!0LON\!:D\&! ,W!FDQ!EH!YLHZHG!LQ!ELQRFXODUV!EXW!LWV!PDJQLWXGH!RI!,1&2!PHDQV! \RX"OO!QHHG!GDUN!VNLHV!DQG!D!(%LQFK!WHOHVFRSH!WR!VHH!LWV!VSLUDO!DUPV&! NEBULAE 6RPH"RI"WKHVH"FORXGV"RI"JDV"DQG"GXVW"JORZ"RQ"WKHLU"RZQ*"VRPH"UH+HFW"QHDUE\"VWDUOLJKW The Orion Nebula, M42 Constellation: Orion 7KH"RQO\"QHEXOD"WKDW"FDQ"EH"VHHQ"ZLWK"WKH"QDNHG"H\H#"0)("LV"WKH EULJKWHVW"LQ"WKH"QLJKW"VN\$"RX!OO"QHHG"D"GDUN"VN\"IUHH"IURP"OLJKW SROOXWLRQ#"WKHQ"ORRN"EHORZ"WKH"WKUHH"VWDUV"RI"2ULRQ!V"EHOW"DQG"\RX!OO VHH"WKLV"HPLVVLRQ"QHEXOD"DV"D"VPDOO#"PLVW\"VPXGJH$"%LQRFXODUV"ZLOO EHJLQ"WR"UHYHDO"LWV"FXUYLQJ"VKDSH$":LWK"D"VPDOO"WHOHVFRSH#"\RX!OO" VWDUW"WR"VHH"VRPH"VWUXFWXUH$")RXU"VWDUV"DW"WKH"KHDUW"RI"0)("HQHUJLVH" the entire nebula with their radiation, causing it to glow. The Horsehead Nebula, Barnard 33 Constellation: Orion 7KH"+RUVHKHDG"1HEXOD"VLWV"VRXWK"RI"2ULRQ!V"%HOW"LQ"WKH"2ULRQ" 0ROHFXODU"&ORXG"&RPSOH[$",W!V"D"GDUN"QHEXOD"WKDW"DSSHDUV" VLOKRXHWWHG"DJDLQVW"D"EULJKWHU"EDFNJURXQG"RI"QHEXORVLW\$"RX!OO" QHHG"D"ODUJH"DSHUWXUH"WHOHVFRSH"DQG"GDUN"VNLHV"WR"REVHUYH"LW The Crab Nebula, M1 Constellation: Taurus 7KH"VWXQQLQJ"&UDE"1HEXOD"LV"ZKDW"UHPDLQV"RI"D"FDWDFO\VPLF" VWHOODU"H[SORVLRQ"VHHQ"IURP"(DUWK"LQ",%&)$",W"FDQ"EH"VSRWWHG"ZLWK" D"VPDOO"WHOHVFRSH#"EXW"LWV"IDVFLQDWLQJ"YHLQ'OLNH"WH[WXUH"LV"RQO\" UHYHDOHG"E\"D"UHDOO\"ODUJH"DSHUWXUH"LQVWUXPHQW$ STAR CLUSTERS Each of these glowing groups of stars formed in its own vast cloud of gas and dust OPEN CLUSTERS M45 Constellation: Taurus ,W!V"HDV\"WR"VHH"VL["VWDUV"RI"WKH" splendid Pleiades, or Seven 6LVWHUV#"ZLWK"WKH"QDNHG"H\H"EXW" counting up to 10 is possible. Decent binoculars will reveal WKH"FOXVWHU"DFWXDOO\"FRQWDLQV" PDQ\"GR]HQV"RI"VWDUV$ NGC 869 and…

KEY DATES 1 MAY Nice libration for viewing details on the east and northeast limb of the Moon 5 MAY Peak activity for the Eta Aquariid meteor shower 21 MAY Start looking for noctilucent cloud displays in deep twilight 22 MAY Use a 16% lit waning crescent Moon to KHOS!\RX!"QG!WKH!ZD\!WR see Venus during the day 31 MAY A 41% lit waxing crescent Moon lies close to the star Regulus in the daytime sky The nights of May, June and July may be warm but they’re also short, which makes stargazing a bit of a challenge. There are some lovely things to see though, including the constellation of Libra and the planet Venus. KEY SIGHTS TO SEE The Northern Crown The bright orange star Arcturus dominates the view to the south.…

7LFN!WKH!ER[!ZKHQ!\RXSYH! seen each one 1 MELOTTE 186 10x50s Our tour begins with an easy object – open cluster Melotte 186, which is also known as Collinder 359. It spans 4° and so is comfortably contained LQ!WKH!"HOG!RI!YLHZ!RI!D!SDLU! of 10x50s and seems to be made for binoculars. The cluster includes a prominent r9S!RI!"YH!VWDUV%!&&'!&('!&)'! (*!DQG!(+!2SKLXFKL,!7KLV! shape looks like the Hyades cluster in Taurus, a similarity that led to this region being FDOOHG!7DXUXV!3RQLDWRYLL! (Poniatowski’s Bull) in the 18th century. One particularly striking thing about Melotte -)&!LV!WKH!YDULHW\ RI!FRORXUV! of its brighter stars. SEEN IT 2 THE SUMMER BEEHIVE 10x50s 7KH!6XPPHU!%HHKLYH'! RI"FLDOO\!,&!.&&/'!LV!WKH! classic cluster of the summer skies. Look for D!SDUWLFXODUO\!DWWUDFWLYH! FXUYHG!FKDLQ!RI!EULJKW! white stars, which forms part of the letter ‘H’ in the LQYHUWHG!ZRUG!r+,S,!7KLV!ODUJH! cluster, which is in the same "HOG!RI!YLHZ!DV!PDJ,!01,)! Cebalrai (Beta (?) Ophiuchi), can…

BINOCULARS 0RUH!GHWDLO!DQG!D!ZLGH!"HOG!YLHZ Messier 81 and 82 are a pair of relatively bright galaxies near the Plough. Find them by drawing a diagonal line from the star in the southeast of the ploughshare, mag. +2.4 Gamma (?) Ursae Majoris, or Phecda, through the star in the northwest corner, mag. +1.8 Alpha (?) Ursae Majoris, or Dubhe. Extend this line for the same distance again and both galaxies VKRXOG!EH!LQ!WKH!"HOG!RI!D!SDLU!RI!ELQRFXODUV!#OLJKW!SROOXWLRQ! and binocular size will make a difference). M81, or Bode’s Galaxy, should be the most obvious, appearing as an oval smudge. M82, or the Cigar Galaxy, can be harder to pick out, being both smaller and fainter than M81. Larger binoculars fare better – a 15x70 pair of binoculars will show both objects well. SMALL SCOPE 8S!WKH!PDJQL"FDWLRQ!IRU!PRUH!GHWDLO A small telescope reveals both galaxies…

As it swivels across the night sky, Parkes radio telescope is visible from many kilometres away, sitting as it does in the wide, open plains of the New South Wales outback, 320km west of Sydney. It’s been a huge part of Aussie culture for decades, for many years appearing on the local $50 banknote. But it has also gained global recognition for its many astronomical GLVFRYHULHV!"DQG"IRU"WKH"#OP" The Dish, which was based on the telescope’s role in receiving signals IURP"WKH"#UVW"PDQQHG"0RRQ"ODQGLQJ$" It’s no surprise, then, that every year more than 100,000 visitors make a detour from the nearest highway to see this attraction, despite its relative isolation. An odd sight it is too, appearing like a stubby lighthouse with a huge white bowl stuck on top. For rather than having supports at…

JUPITER Diameter: 143,000km • Moons: 67 Distance from Sun: 778 million km The largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter has more mass than all of the other planets put together and is second only to the Sun in terms of gravitational power. In 1994 it enticed comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 to fragment and crash into its swirling clouds – other likely comet crashes were recorded in 2009, 2010 and 2016. Jupiter is mostly gas, its composition of hydrogen and helium similar to that of the Sun. :LWK!D!JRRG!SDLU!RI!ELQRFXODUV!WKH!"UVW! things you’ll notice are its four most famous moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, spied by Galileo Galilei in 1610. With a telescope you’ll see a slightly squashed sphere. This is due to its fast spinning ‘day’ of just under 10 hours, which…

ARCS An auroral arc: a general JORZ!DFURVV!WKHbVN\!ZLWK!D! ZHOO"GH#QHG!ORZHU!HGJH CURTAINS A curtain aurora: a band of OLJKW!WKDW!VKRZVbNLQNV!DQG! folds along its length BANDS An auroral band: similar to an arc but with an irregular lower edge PATCHES A patch aurora: these appear as a glow that has no particular shape RAYS Ray aurora: these present themselves as shafts of light VWUHWFKLQJ!XS!LQWR!WKH!VN\ VEILS An auroral veil: a general JORZ!FRYHULQJ!WKHbVN\!ZLWK! little structure to it RAYED BANDS & ARCS Rayed bands and arcs: similar structure to bands or arcs, also containing rays CORONAE A corona: rays that appear to converge at a point directly overhead…

Every object in the night sky has celestial co-ordinates in right ascension (RA) and declination (dec.). For example, Deneb in Cygnus can be found at RA 20h 41m 25.9s, dec. +45° 16’ 49”. In declination the ’ symbol represents angular minutes (arcminutes) and the ” represents angular seconds (arcseconds). A degree is a pretty large unit on the sky – two widths of the full Moon, in fact. So, 1° is divided into 60 arcminutes and each arcminute has 60 arcseconds. The + or – at the start shows whether an object is in the northern hemisphere (+) or in the southern hemisphere (–). Right ascension is written as hours, minutes and seconds (as in regular time, not the arc variety). So, one hour in RA describes the movement of…

Position your scope in a spot that creates a barrier between yourself and the source of the glare – such as a fence, tree or building. Alternatively, make a suitable barrier. Make friends with your neighbours. In return for watering their plants while they’re on holiday, they may agree to turning off an outside light or drawing their curtains when you are in the garden observing. Wait until after midnight to start observing as light pollution declines when people go to bed. And wait until your chosen target is well clear of the horizon before you attempt to view it. Optimise your equipment – choose eyepieces that have eye guards to block extraneous light and make sure lenses are free from eyelash grease. As an alternative to eye guards, throw…

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IWSV"\RXU"#UVW"QLJKW" outside, you’ve found a nice, dark spot and you’re gazing up at a sky peppered with pinpricks of light – so where do you begin? Starting out on your astronomical adventure can be as mystifying as it is exciting, but assuming you live in the northern hemisphere at a mid-to-high ODWLWXGH$"\RXU"#UVW"JRDO"LV"WR" #QG"WKH"JURXS"RI"VHYHQ"VWDUV" known as the Plough. The Plough is an asterism – a pattern of stars – within the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). It happens to look like a saucepan and it marks the bear’s tail and back. The reason we’re starting at the Plough is not only because this asterism is EULJKW"DQG"HDV\"WR"#QG$"EXW" because we have to take into account the rotation of the Earth. Just as the Sun appears to rise, move over the sky…

1 MARE CRISIUM Equipment: Binoculars Located close to the eastern limb, this huge lunar ‘sea’ is one of the Moon’s most recognisable features. To the naked eye this large plain appears as a dark, oval patch and unlike the other seas it’s completely detached. The high boundary around LWV!VPRRWK$ORRNLQJ!#RRU!FUHDWHV!JLDQW!VKDGRZV! as the terminator (the demarcating line separating lunar day and night) crosses the sea. 2 CRATERS PTOLEMAEUS, ALPHONSUS & ARZACHEL Equipment: Small scope These three striking craters sit close to the centre of the Moon’s near side. Look closely and you’ll see that the largest of them, Ptolemaeus, has a VPRRWK!#RRU!WKDW!LV!SLWWHG! with lots more tiny craters. 3 THE LUNAR APENNINES Equipment: Small scope The Apennines mountain range extends over 900km across the Moon’s surface. It is particularly dramatic when lit from…

KEY DATES 1 APRIL Twilight this evening is a good time to look for Mercury 3 APRIL Watch the Lunar X appear from 22:30 BST (21:30 UT) 7 APRIL Jupiter at its best and brightest; Ganymede and its shadow cross the planet between 19:30 and 21:55 BST (18:30 and 20:55 UT) 22 APRIL Peak activity for the Lyrid meteor shower 28 APRIL See the Moon move in front of bright star Aldebaran from 18:50 BST (17:50 UT) The end of March sees spring equinox occur in the northern hemisphere. This time of year is when the Sun appears to be getting higher in the sky most rapidly. As a consequence the days get noticeably longer and the nights become shorter, particularly in April. KEY SIGHTS TO SEE Arcturus First locate…

Tick the box when you’ve seen each one 1 NGC 7243 10x50s In a bright part of the Milky Way, 2.5° west of mag. +3.8 Alpha (?) Lacertae, is NGC 7243, also known as Caldwell 16. It is a large, sparse cluster that stands out in small binoculars, even against the rich background. A pair of 10x50s should reveal a dozenound. SEEN IT 2 M39 10x50s From NGC 7243, locate mag. +1.3 Deneb (Alpha (?) Cygni) and move half way to it. Here \RX!ZLOO!"QG!WKH!VSDUVH!EXW! bright (mag. +4.6) cluster M39. Although it is just visible to the naked eye in a dark sky, 10x50 binoculars will show you a wedge-shaped group of stars, a wedge to a triangle. SEEN IT 3 IC 1396 10x50s Slightly more than 1° south of mag.…

NAKED EYE What you see just by looking up Coma Berenices is a small constellation between Leo and Bo�tes. In dark skies there�s something quite mesmerising about it because Melotte 111, a triangular open cluster spanning 7.5!, forms part of the constellation which represents the hair of Egyptian Queen Berenice II. Legend tells how she bargained with Aphrodite that if her husband, King 3WROHP\",,,#"UHWXUQHG"IURP"6\ULD"VDIHO\"VKH"ZRXOG"VDFUL$FH"KHU hair. He did and she kept her bargain, announcing that Aphrodite had placed her hair among the stars. This came at the expense of the tuft of Leo�s tail, which was reassigned to Coma Berenices. The cluster begins at the mag. +4.3 star Gamma (_) Comae %HUHQLFHV"DQG"WKHQ"DSSHDUV"WR"%RZ"DQG"H[SDQG"DV"LW"KHDGV"VRXWK&" BINOCULARS 0RUH!GHWDLO!DQG!D!ZLGH!"HOG!YLHZ Binoculars bring order to the cluster, allowing your eyes to view a reasonable number of its 100…

NAKED EYE What you see just by looking up At magnitude +5.7, globular cluster M5 is about as faint as you can see with the naked eye. If you have very dark and clear skies it is possible to see it, resembling a very faint star right on the edge of sight. From the UK, M5 never really gets very high in the sky, only reaching a maximum altitude of 38! when due south. This means that some of its light is lost to the atmosphere, which makes spotting it just that little bit harder. The easiest way to track it down is to look for the two similarly bright stars in Libra that lie to the east of bright Spica in Virgo. Imagine the line they make as the…